ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
I doubted the ability of Freddie Mac to forecast the housing market once. Never again. In the immediate wake of the pandemic, Freddie Mac insisted that housing would recover rapidly. I was highly skeptical. Freddie Mac turned out to be too conservative! Fast forward two years and Freddie Mac has delivered a surprisingly solid housing … Read more
In a blunt and direct discussion, Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem made a compelling case for fighting inflation by declaring that “the economy has entered this period of excess demand with considerable momentum and high inflation, and we are committed to getting inflation back to target.” To do so, the BoC hiked its … Read more
Two recent studies from the Federal Reserve say a lot about its core concerns for inflation. These studies were released back-to-back just one week following Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirming the new religion at the Fed for (aggressively) fighting inflation. Researchers at the St. Louis Federal Reserve identified housing services (aka rents) as a core … Read more
During the Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, a friend and I were convinced that the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary monetary measures would eventually create outsized inflationary pressures. We came up with a blog called “Inflation Watch” as a way to educate each other on price dynamics and to alert anyone else interested. The subsequent economic expansion came … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Throw out all the gradual scenarios for a potential climax. The stock market carved out a quick crest that puts the current rally at risk. Out-performance from small-cap stocks and late saves for the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ barely averted a technical setup for a bearish reversal. The stock market goes … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Forget recession fears. Forget an aggressively hawkish Fed. Forget the stock chart holdouts. Bullish belief delivered another powerful confirmation of what has become an exceptionally strong bounce from March’s nervous test of the last oversold point. The rally launched from the March lows and barely rested or paused. The rally has been … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary An aggressively hawkish Federal Reserve has changed the game for the housing market. After falling behind the curve and failing to start the rate hike cycle last year, America’s central bank is now desperately scrambling to catch up without causing a recession. The housing market is ground zero for the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Last week delivered a series of confirmed breakouts that served to uphold bullish belief in the stock market. Even as the overall rally looks to continue, the market’s most troubled corners showed weakness at the end of the week. These holdouts failed to break through important resistance levels. Some of these growth … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: I will not attempt to back my way into an explanation for today’s impressive rally in the stock market. Maybe the surge is another classic bear market relief rally. Maybe the relief fuel symbolizes a market finally ready to leave a bottom behind. Time will tell. What IS clear is that the … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary In my last Housing Market Review, I discussed the prospects for the impact of higher interest rates. I concluded there could be little impact on prices. Those dynamics could soon be overshadowed by the impacts of a global economic war and the declining sentiment that comes from watching the misery … Read more